Annabeth's Chase
by Seafood Noodle
Summary: First, there's this nagging feeling. Then comes this nagging mother. Oh yes, the nagging mother. Annabeth's chase begins when all of a sudden she realizes that everything she's believed in for the last five years appears to be just a fragment of the truth. Percabeth. EXTENDED WITH NEW CHAPTERS
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hello there! Just saying this in advance, this will only be a two-part story since I don't really have any plans on turning it into a long series and I also haven't figure out how this story will turn up. But if anyone's interested in this story, just PM me :)

And did I say this is my first PJO fanfic? Go easy on me, please?

* * *

**Annabeth's Chase: Part 1**

I'm forgetting... _something_.

I pause by the door of my apartment, open my brown leather satchel and scan through it one more time. Phone, check. Wallet, check. Planner, check. Invisibility cap, check. Good, I've got everything I need so far.

Walking a few steps back, I find myself in front of a full body-sized mirror and I'm left staring at my own reflection.

There stands the 21-year old me. The 21-year old Annabeth Chase with her curly blonde hair, slightly tanned skin and grey eyes. The 21-year old Annabeth who's _once_ the favorite demigod daughter of Athena. I said once because sadly, that's what everyone used to think so and that everyone also includes me.

You see, many things happened ever since I left the camp five years ago. After the second Titan war ended, I was appointed as the architect of Olympus and started living here in New York. While working with the reconstruction, I enrolled at NYU for some courses on architecture. Well, marine architecture specifically. Even now, I still find it a mystery why I did such thing knowing that Mother might probably disown me if ever I do anything that involves water, the domain of her rival Poseidon, god of the seas. As what I'd expected, I got a pretty good scolding from her after she found out everything (take note that she's in her 30-feet giant form) and had also been presented with few punishments like reading the Twilight series, for example. Don't get me wrong. I, Annabeth Chase, do love books. But if there's a kind of book a child of Athena like me will not want to read ever in our semi-mortal lives, it's a romance book written in English. Oh dear gods, Aphrodite and English! Just the thought makes my dyslexic eyes widen and gives my body the creeps.

I sigh and gaze at myself again. Mother did give me permission but it's never the same between us since then. She barely talks to me and even if she does, they are mostly about quests and somehow, it pains me to think that we used to talk about a lot more things than that. What I did, is it really that big a deal for her? As I look at the mirror, a pair of stormy gray eyes stare back at me. The eyes of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, that we, her children, all have in common. I did pretty well on leading the whole Camp Half-Blood to victory during the war, didn't I? Can't she just let that tiny little thing slip and pretend that nothing happened? For Hestia's sake, I saved their godly immortal arses! I saved Olympus! I saved the world together with-!

_With?_ I frown with the sudden discomfort. There's that nagging feeling inside me again. Every time I think of my time back at the camp, I always feel light-headed and there's this voice deep in my subconscious telling me that I'm forgetting something. Something important. _Really really important_, the voice adds. Few times I brought up the topic to Thalia during her brief visits to my place but she said she doesn't hear such voice.

"Oh Anna, you do really need to have a boyfriend! You're going nuts, you know." Thalia will make fun of me afterwards and then I will roll my eyes back at her.

"That coming from a hunter of Artemis, huh? I'm very much convinced, Thals."

But the truth is, the thought of having one never crossed my mind. After all, for a child of Athena, it's nothing new. We don't believe in love. We only believe in the things that make sense. We don't easily trust what other people say. We only trust what we know, what's in our minds.

"It's our curse." I mutter darkly, my lips in a thin line.

"A bit negative there, aren't we?"

This time it's a male voice and I feel a sudden tug in my stomach. I know I heard that voice before but just where, when, and who it was, my brain fails to give me an answer. Confused, my eyes are then turned to a picture pinned on the wall. It's a picture of Thalia, Nico, Grover, and me taken before we left the camp. It's the only photo of us together though for some reason, I always find it weird because there's an awkward space between Thalia and me as if another person was really there. And what bothers me the most is that the more I look at it, the more the ridiculous idea seems possible.

_Time_, a familiar voice of a woman fills my head, echoing its thousands of years of no-matter-how-you-wish-I'll-never-gonna-die existence.

"I know." I reply, irritated with her for interrupting my thoughts. I really hate it when she does that. "No need to remind me." Checking the mirror again, I gave myself one last look. I'm wearing a white t-shirt under a gray cotton sweater, jeans and a pair of leather boots to match. I try pulling my hair up in a ponytail but since it won't face the way I want it to, I have no choice but to tie it in fish braid-style. Another sigh escapes my lips. Doesn't this look a bit, uhm, casual?

"Don't worry. You look mighty fine."

The male voice speaks again and heat suddenly rises to my cheeks. _Who are you? What do you need from me?_ I try to ask in my mind but dead silence answers me in return. My demigod instincts fire up and I quickly pull my invisibility cap from my bag and then put it on my head. In an instant, my body becomes transparent and I'm now nowhere to be seen. Taking my dagger from the drawer near the mirror, I look around my apartment to check for monsters. To my relief, the area seems to be clear.

_You're going to be late, young lady._ Mother continues with her nagging and I frown back. It's the second time she has talked to me in just a day and I find it odd. She never does that unless she needs me for a quest. I wonder if something bad has happened.

"Keep your hair on, Mother. There, I'm going now. Happy?"

But there's no more response from Athena. _Unbelievably-mercurial-and- annoyingly-demanding immortal gods_, I huff.

Thirty seconds later, I'm finally out of the building. Then, I hail a cab and go straight to the hotel somewhere in Manhattan. I might have not mentioned this before but today, the company I'm currently working for has decided to hold an exhibit and they have agreed to use my plates and some sketches for the said event. I was so happy when I first heard the news that I immediately Irish messaged Thalia who, at that time, was in a middle of a hunt.

"That's great, Annabeth!" She said while aiming her silver arrow at a boar, her black eye shadow all messed up because of the sweat, making her looked like a punk panda. Behind her, a faint glow of light appeared for a second and then quickly vanished before my eyes could even blink. The light continued in the same manner until it halted mid-air and then suddenly transformed into beautiful young girl enveloped in silver light. Her cold sapphire eyes met mine and I gasped as I realized that the girl was none other than Artemis, the goddess of hunt. Flustered, I bowed in her presence and then ended the call without even saying goodbye to my friend.

Weird. Now that I think about it, why did I act like that? It's not like I turned down Artemis' invitation to join the hunters. Heck, I wasn't even invited, was I?

_Language, child. Or Artemis might turn you into a toad._ It seems like Mother is back again with her little hobby of reading my mind but I decide to ignore her. One day, I should really tell her to stop doing that.

"Uhm, ma'am?"

The cab driver brings me back from my thinking world and I realize that we have already arrived at the hotel. I hand him the cab fare and walk directly to the reception hall. As I stride towards the receiving desk, I slowly become aware of the familiar glow of pink aura around one of the woman sitting behind the desk, obviously enjoying her time with a man.

"Another child of Aphrodite's up to her tricks again." I scowl, almost dragging my feet just to reach the counter. "Excuse me?" I say, interrupting their little moment. The woman turn to me and I see much closer now how she radiates with goddess-like beauty, skin as fair as snow and large brown eyes twinkling with, I don't know. Love, perhaps? She's a daughter of Aphrodite after all.

"Yes? What can I do for you, ma'am?" I shift awkwardly because I find her voice very very disturbing. I don't know how to explain it well but it's the same feeling as hearing Mother say she'll ask Aphrodite for some beauty tips.

_I say no more about that, Annabeth. Charmspeak voice is indeed no music to our ears_, Mother sighs. Oh dear gods, I don't care how many times I have to swear to the River of Styx, but I'll do anything just to see Athena's expression right now! I should have brought my camera with me!

I'm about to speak again when I hear a small yet audible gasp from my left. I look at my side and finally get a closer look of the man the Aphrodite's child was talking to a while ago. He's about a feet taller than I, wearing light-blue long sleeves, faded jeans, and bright green high-cut converse. I can't figure out the color of his eyes because he has his sunglasses on but one look at his perfect straight nose and now slightly parted thin lips, I must say he's pretty hot. Well, he must be. Being charmspoken and all, right?

"E-Exhibit." I reply, surprised to hear my own voice so oddly weak. What's wrong with me? From the corner of my eye, I can see him smirking at my direction and I want so badly to punch that smug look on his face but lucky him, I'm able to contain myself. To hit someone with no logical reason is after all, very unAthena and I don't want to read any more of that Twilight books so I step back and feign ignorance instead. "I'm just checking if it's already open or not."

"Yes it is, ma'am." She answers politely, still in her love trance. "Take the elevator to the 19th floor and the ushers will take it from there."

I mutter a half-hearted thanks to her and quickly make my way to the elevator. As I wait for it to come down, I see the same guy from the desk nearing towards me, walking in a way as if he owns the world, an annoying grin plastered on his face. I don't even know who he is and yet I find his every movements Rachel Elizabeth Dare-irritating. Or maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just nearing my period.

A moment later, the elevator finally arrives and we both jump in. I press the button with the number 19 on it and then move to one corner, staying away from him as far as possible. He, on the other hand, does nothing and just stands in the middle of the elevator. Oh, is he going to the exhibit too? The thought comes to my mind and I find myself fighting back a smile.

Again. What the heck is wrong with me?

Under my feet, I sense that the elevator has started to move. No one else entered aside from us and for some reason, I feel very uncomfortable with that, especially with him standing there. I know that for a daughter of the goddess of wisdom, I've been saying I don't know for quite a number of times now but what can I do? I cannot really fathom the roots of these irrational feelings towards this guy I've never even talked to, not even met in my whole life and the thought bothers me. A lot. Because I hate not knowing things. I mean, we hate not knowing things. It's yet another "_blessing_" from our dearest Mother.

We're almost halfway there when the elevator stops at the 9th floor. I hear the "ding" sound followed by the door opening and to both our surprise, hundreds of people waiting outside to get in welcome us. I see the guy turning to me as if asking what to do next but I just shrug at him and avert my gaze way.

The next thing I know, he has me cornered with his arms on both sides of my head.

If we're just in a more different kind of situation, most probably he'll be lying on the floor now, Hades dead cold. But with the little space between us, I can barely move my body and yet people still keep pouring in. Just how many person can this elevator hold, huh? I keep my professional face on as I try to hold my head still, convincing myself that our position can't be helped, that sometimes elevators in New York can get really crowded and the man in front of me now is just trying to be a gentleman by protecting me from being crushed. Literally.

Looking over his shoulder, I see the door closes at last and I sigh in relief. Seconds later, I regret it did so because the force of the people trying to move further into the elevator caused his arms to give in. I gasp as our bodies touch and my face heats to boiling point as I feel his breath tickles my ear.

Never in my entire life have I been this close to a man and the idea just makes my knees Jell-O weak. I swear I might've already collapsed to the floor if my body isn't pinned to his. But unfortunately, my daughter-of-a-maiden-goddess drama doesn't with that. The worse thing about our awkward position is that I can smell his scent even if I have no any single bit of intention to do so. He unbelievably smells like ocean not in the salty way but in a cool, refreshing, and oh-so good way that it's almost intoxicating. I can feel my knees weaken with every second and with our bodies touching, I just hope he won't feel how fast my heartbeat is right now.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

I freeze when I finally hear his voice. It sounds exactly the same as the voice I heard this morning which of course doesn't make any sense because he's a mortal. And mortals don't have any special powers. Or is he really? Maybe the mist has something to do with this. Wait, that's wrong. The mist only affects the mortals! Not demigods! Oh River of Swearing Styx, what's happening? Even my thinking's going Hera-mad!

"I-I-" I stammer, all confused and weird out. Forgetting that we're in that kind of position, I unconsciously lift my head to face him and my forehead ends up bumping to his chin. I feel my cheeks instantly burn with the contact so I lower my head again to hide my face but then end up leaning to his chest. I groan, frustrated. No matter what I do, our bodies somehow end up touching like it's the only choice left in the world. But for a moment, I admit I kind of enjoyed the feel of his chest, the way it moves up and down as he breathes, the firmness.. the..

_I can't bear to hear these inappropriate thoughts anymore, young lady!_ Mother's voice rings in my ears so loud that I wince in pain. It almost sounds like her battlecry. And I tell you war-mode Athena isn't good. Well, war-mode Annabeth isn't that good either.

"You won't if you'll just stop reading my mind, Mom!"

Wait, did I just say that out loud?

I guess I did because all of a sudden I can feel all the people inside the elevator staring, their eyebrows raised at me. There's a moment of awkward silence in the air until my right ear catches the sound of small chuckles escaping from none other than him. Great, now everyone thinks I'm some weird woman complaining about privacy issues to her mother and he's laughing at me! How dare he?!

"I bet your Mom's cool coz she can-ow!"

Unable to control my feelings anymore, I kick him on the shin. I swear it's the most amazing thing I did since I woke up this morning that I can't help but grin triumphantly over the poor guy. Well, he deserved it for being such an ass after all. I stand there watching him as he curses words in pain while trying to reach for his hurt knee though fails every time due to lack of space. Ha! I laugh to myself. Seeing that he's busy, I use the chance to summon the Mist. With just the snap of my fingers, what happened moments ago quickly vanishes from the minds of all the people inside the elevator and they all go back to their own previous businesses.

Phew. If only the Mist can also hide me from a certain goddess' eyes..

I turn back again to Mr.I-just-kicked-his-shin guy who's head is now leaning on the elevator wall behind me. Did it hurt that much? I wonder. For a moment, I feel guilty for what I did but quickly shake the idea away. He deserved it, I remind myself. I steal a quick glance from him to see if he's affected by the Mist too but what I find staring back at me is a pair of rare bright sea green eyes half-hidden behind the sunglasses.

I know I've seen them before. In Olympus.

And that's when it hit me.

Why does his voice sound like what I heard this morning? Why does he smell like the ocean? Why do I get irritated by just his mere presence? Why those pair of oh-I-don't-care-what-Athena-would-say-but-so gorgeous green eyes? And why oh why didn't I realize this before?

"L-Lord Poseidon?"

* * *

So there it is! I hope you liked it! And please tell me what you think of this story, okay? Reviews are very much appreciated. I'll upload the second part as soon as I've finished writing it! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hello. This is the second-part of this story. It's quite a long one but please do enjoy reading!

imbetterthanyou238: Don't worry Percy IS here! :)

* * *

**Annabeth's Chase: Part 2**

"L-Lord Poseidon?"

When those words escaped my clumsy mouth, for a split second, I think I saw his eyes flicker bright green, just like the time when the Sea God summoned that huge tidal wave back during the second Titan War five years ago. Is he really Poseidon? If that is so, what is he doing here? Why the sudden visit to the mortal world? The questions just keep filling my head but with no prompt answers.

Another thing I notice is that Athena's being unexpectedly quiet. I kind of thought she'll be more talky and naggy and mothery over me since it's her rival I'm thinking about right now but she isn't even saying anything. And with the I-hate-to-admit-this fact that I hopelessly find him attractive, I imagine she must be biting her nails now.

Both hands and feet. Maybe some other gods' too.

I wait for him to say something but all I hear back from this guy standing in front of me is his laugh and in a swift of Aeolus' wind, all the infatuation is gone.

"Should I take that as a compliment?" He whisper to my ear and I shiver as I feel strands of his hair slightly brushing my cheek causing a familiar tingling electric-like current to run down my spine. "That I look like a greek god or something?"

Hearing him say that, I've never felt embarrassed my entire life. Holy Zeus, why did I ask him that stupid question? Why didn't I just keep this mouth of mine shut? My supposed-to-be brilliant head turns cherry red in utter humiliation and the smug look on his face saying that he's very much aware that he's making me feel that way only makes it worse.

_Oh for Olympus' sake, just give that pompous brat another taste of Athena kick for me, Annabeth!_ And I did.

Oh Hades yeah, I did.

And did I ever tell you that I've got an awesome mom?

Well, maybe just this time.

After my foot hit the same knee again, he let out a sharp cry, burying his face on his arm. Later, when he moves a little so I can somehow take a look on what he's doing, I realize that he's biting it. Oh gods, it must really have hurt! Then I remember I'm wearing leather boots today. The pointy thick one.

"Oh, I see. So that's why." I mutter under my breath, dismissing the curious glances of people in the elevator again. I see him glare at me, brows furrowed, which I am more than happy to return with one of my own but refrain to do so.

Mr. Assuming-greek-god, you can glare at me all day and I won't care.

"Today must be some sort of your kick day, huh?" He finally says, his voice high-pitched than normal. I do not know where he gets it but I do admire his nerves for still talking to me. "Have any plans on joining Olympics?"

He does it again. That sarcastic tone together with that conceited smirk. If he ever is a demigod, I won't be even surprised if he's a son of Poseidon! There's too much resemblance! Although of course, it'll never be possible because of the no-more-child policy of the Big Three after the mortal World War II where Poseidon and Hades have been properly keeping their words until now.

I can understand Hades but Poseidon? I don't have anything against the God of the Sea since unlike any other gods, I barely see him. In fact, I don't even remember directly talking to him. But as everybody knows, Mother does have this rivalry going on with him which is probably the root of this hostility I feel towards him. But still, really? I mean really?

_Ahem. 19th floor_. Mother speaks again, snapping me out my thoughts. As the elevator becomes less crowded, I sense the atmosphere becoming lighter and lighter and when there's enough space for me to move, I quickly push him away from me with a 'Hmph' loud enough for him to hear.

If he'd just remained silent, if he'd just chosen to shut that smart mouth of his... I sigh, taking one last look at him before heading outside. Though still slightly limping, he is back on his feet again and is now talking to some brunette girl who seems to be offering him some help. Behind those sunglasses, I can see his cerulean eyes flicker again and he catches me staring at him. I try to look away but his strong gaze hold mine for I don't know how long. It's as if he's trying to tell me something but whatever it is he want to say, it's far beyond my knowing.

"Thanks." He replies, finally breaking the eye contact. Then, he smiles at the girl which obviously made her blush before finally placing his arm around her, leaning for support as they walk.

I feel my eyes narrowing, irritated with the sight and without any other single thought, I step out of the elevator.

At last, I thought I will never see the world again.

"There you are, Annabeth!"

I raise my head and find Rick, my boss, making his way towards me. He's in his casual clothes too, wearing simple gray long sleeves and black pants which make him look five years younger than his age. It's the first time I've seen him dressed like that since he's always wearing suit when in the office.

"Come on, I'd like to introduce you to some of my business partners." His arm grabs me by the waist, dragging me past the registration booth. "They've been wanting to meet you, you know."

"But I want to take a look around first." I tell him as I attempt to unwrap his arm from me. Maybe it's another blessing from Mother but the truth is, I don't really like having physical contact with men. I feel uneasy even with the slightest touch.

_I would appreciate it if you could stop blaming your mother about every little thing, young lady._

_And I would appreciate it too if you could stop reading my mind, dearest Mother_. I snap back at her inside my head. Then she blabs about me saying that it's I who just said I want her to talk a while ago and so on. I give up and reply no more since I can never win against her.

Because if your mother is Athena, you can never get away with anything.

"We got a lot of time. You can do that later." Rick assures me, releasing my waist and then pulls me by the wrist instead. Still, it didn't make me feel any less uncomfortable.

_Perhaps it's because he isn't him. They aren't him_. My subconscious suddenly speaks from the back of my mind.

_Who's him?_ I ask back, pretending that I don't have a clue on what she's talking about. I don't know any him. Funny thing is that seconds later, I find myself looking around for a certain guy in sunglasses. However, the place is quite big and there are too many people moving that it's hard to pinpoint where he is.

"Are you meeting with someone today?" My boss turns his head to me and my face suddenly feels warm.

"No." I say, shaking my head. "Just looking around."

Rick grins back as if he has guessed something right. "Didn't think so too."

His words hit me like a pang, penetrating the insides of my body like poison. I know I shouldn't feel that way. I'm used to hearing other people talk about me as if I'm the leader of the Man-Hater's Club of America but still I can't help but wince when he said that.

I can have a boyfriend too, you know!

_If I allow it and you know I won't._ Mother butts in and as always, I ignore her.

When we reach the small table where his business partners are sitting around, he quickly introduces me to them. After a moment of congratulations and thank yous, I'm offered a seat and asked to stay a little while for some casual chat. I want to leave so badly but I also don't want to embarrass Rick. I love my job too and I don't want to lose it this early so I decide to sit with them for a little longer.

"If Rick's giving you a hard time, you can quit anytime Annabeth," says Mr. Grey, a 30-year old something owner of a construction company in California. "You are very much welcome in our company."

"I'll remember that." I reply, flashing him my polite smile. I'm about to finally excuse myself when suddenly a huge circle of distorted image appears just above his head and Thalia's face pops out of nowhere. Iris Message!

Perfect timing, Thals. Pinecone perfect.

Turning to them, I bid goodbye and without waiting for their answer, I rush to a corner where fortunately, no one is around. I take another scan of the area and when I sense that everything is clear, I look back to the short black-haired girl beaming her electric blue eyes at me.

"Isn't that fun?" Thalia giggles.

"You bet." I giggle back. It has been a while since our last IM (the one with Artemis) and it feels so good to talk to my best friend again. The only weird thing about it is that with her looking so young and vibrant, I feel older and older every time we see each other. Well that's what I get for having the lieutenant of Artemis as a friend. It's not that I mind it though.

Also, with what happened to me this morning, I think that if she didn't call, I would have probably done it otherwise. I'm so excited that even my insides are giddying. I can't wait to tell her about it.

"How's the exhibit?"

"Good. Many people came today. Met my boss' friends. Got job offers-"

"Ho, ho. Hush there Ms. cowgirl!" Thalia cuts me off. It's then that I realize I'm speaking faster than usual. "I got plenty of drachnas with me, you know."

"S-sorry." I tell her and then take a deep breath. I can feel Thalia's eyes on me but I keep staring down at my feet. It's like my tongue has been cut short or something. "I just- uh, I don't know what's happening to me."

"You know we have all the time in the world so spit it out, Annie."

I reluctantly nod back but still talk about it to her. It's not like I have another choice.

"Wait, let me get this straight." Thalia speaks again. "You met this hot guy-"

"Don't forget annoying." I remind her but my punk girlfriend just rolls her eyes back.

"Fine. Hot but annoying. Then, there's this escalator incident and you ended up kicking him twice?!" She looks utterly shocked at the end of her sentence which doesn't surprise me at all. "Oh my gods, Annabeth! What have I been teaching you all these years, huh?"

"Haha. Forgive me teacher but I've forgotten all of it. Maybe I should blame my friend who left me and then suddenly turned into a huge pine tree. And believe it or not, now she's an immortal punk hunter. Who saw that coming, huh?"

Thalia laughs. I join her.

"Oh well, I'm sure you'll meet someone soon." She says and then smiles. I don't know why but for some reason, when my eyes met hers, I think I saw a hint of sadness in them. Maybe Thalia has those days too. And she must have it harder than I do because she took the oath of living forever without them. Without boys. Without men.

"You know, someone who you don't need to kick- Crap, Anna! Look behind you!" Then all of a sudden, she cuts the video call.

"Behind me?" I ask. "Thalia, w-wait!" Why did she do that? For a moment, I thought she wants to get back at me for our last call but then the answer came sooner than expected when that familiar ocean scent fills the atmosphere again.

You don't say..?

"Hi, you."

I turn around and there he is. Messy jet-black hair. Sunglasses. Body-hugging shirt. That I-know-I'm-hot smirk. And lastly, his eyes. I know they were hidden behind those lenses but I can feel them frozen on me. Measuring me. Paralyzing me.

"H-Hi you too." I reply in an almost singsong voice but manage to quickly get back to my normal senses. "I-I mean, uh. Hi yourself."

He grins and my cheeks start to feel warm again. Oh gods, he's aware of what he's doing to me. "That one looks interesting."

"Huh?" I follow his gaze and see that he's referring to a picture posted exactly on my right side together with other drafts. It's a picture of Atlantis that I drew some weeks ago. I didn't know Rick also included that. "The sketch you mean?"

He nods and walks toward me, or rather towards the picture. I watch how he examines it carefully, even traces the paper with his fingers, completely ignoring the please refrain from touching sign just below it. "They say you draw all of these."

"Most. Not all but most." I correct him, senses working overtime because he's stepped into my personal space again which by the way is two and a half feet in radius.

"Atlantis, huh?" He says, tugging his lower lip. I'm so close to admitting that I do admire the sight in front of me when suddenly he asks, "How can you be sure Atlantis looks like this?"

Oh dear party ponies! Why can't he just shut that stupid mouth of his?!

"W-What did you just say?" This time, I bravely take two steps closer to him and he slightly moves back, surprised. My rational side tells me to let it pass but my subconscious tells me the opposite. I can't just let him question the knowledge of a child of Athena because no one does.

And no one can.

"Do you think I'll just draw something without any basis? This drawing is indeed a product of my imagination but it does not necessarily mean that none of this is true. I do based my sketches on what I've read from books and for your information, I've read hundreds of them so I don't think you are in the position to be questioning my work."

"And who are you to do so?" I add, arms crossed. "Have you ever been to Atlantis?"

When I see his mouth fell open, I know exactly that I've won the battle. Ha! See? He can't even say anything back! My little moment of victory soon comes to an end when I see his parted thin lips slowly curve into a smile.

"Who knows? Maybe I have."

Maybe it's another product of my acute imagination but for a split second, I think I caught his whole body glow green, sea green aura. The ocean scent too becomes stronger than before that it fills my nose, dulling it from other smell. _Maybe I have_. I repeat his sentence in my head all over again and I can't help but feel that he isn't joking. That what he said is the truth.

"Who are you?" I hear myself asking in a voice I don't even recognize as my own. Something tells me he's not a mortal.

He laughs and then brings his face close to mine. I step back in reflex and try to look at anything but him. Mostly on the floor. "Now you're interested in me."

"I-I'm not!"

"You just asked who I am."

"No, I didn't!"

"I think you're blushing."

"S-Something's wrong with your head then."

"You just can't get enough of me, huh?"

"Y-You mean kicking? I'm afraid I've had enough."

"Annabeth."

I look up and my jaws drop open when I notice that his sunglasses are now gone and what I am staring at right now are those green orbs hidden behind them seconds ago. All this time, I'm aware that in the back of my head, I'm secretly imagining what they'd look like and now I can say that the reality didn't fail me. They're not only beautiful but I can also feel immense power in them. Just like when I look at Thalia's.

"Do you want to know who I am?" He asks in the calmest voice I've ever heard from him and briefly touch my cheeks with his hand, sending small electric shocks all over my body.

All that I am able to do is to nod back. My voice has completely left me when I first heard him say my name.

And then as if breaking the spell, he moves away and then flashes a small smile to my direction. "As much as I want to, I can't tell you." He says.

"You have to figure it out on your own. I want you to remember everything."

Remember everything? What does he mean by that? Is he saying I've got some sort of amnesia?

"Or else no one would."

No one? Not just me but everyone too?

"Wait, w-what exactly are you saying?" I ask him. For the first time, I think my brain will explode from too much questions. "Are you telling me that I already know you and I've just forgotten about it?"

To my frustration, he doesn't answer and just keeps his eyes fixed directly at me as if he's lost in his own thinking. I try waving my hands in front of him to catch his attention but he doesn't show any response.

Finally, after twenty seconds or so, I see him blink his eyes and then out of the blue says, "My time's up." After that, he reaches for something in his back pocket and place that something on his head.

It's a blue New York Yankees cap.

Just like mine.

He leans to me one last time and softly whispers to my ear. "I'll see you soon, Wise girl."

And then he vanished. Just like a soap bubble floating in the air, he just vanished. Taking his scent, his sea green eyes, his ragged black hair, his smile, everything. Leaving me nothing but a fast heartbeat and a painful feeling in the chest. Why does he affect me this much?

_I won't cry_, I remind myself. I won't cry over a guy I don't even know in the first place.

"Yes you won't, young lady." I hear Mother say. But I notice that the voice isn't just inside my head. It sounds real. It feels real.

It comes from behind me.

Wiping the small tears beading at the corner of my eyes, I turn to see Athena standing there, arms crossed, in her 30 year-old something appearance. She's wearing a normal office lady attire and her long brunette hair is tied in a neat ponytail. "Mom?! H-How long have you been there?"

"Long enough for me to see everything, Annabeth." She huffs and I can see her eyebrows furrowing at me. "What do you think you were doing with that son of that old barnacle beard?"

"I wasn't doing anything! We were just talking and-" I stop as my brain slowly processes what Mother just said. Her gray eyes widen as she too realizes the meaning of her words. "B-Barnacle beard? You mean Poseidon?" I ask. "He's a son of Poseidon?!"

Athena raises her hand. "Silence! No more questions!"

"But Mom!" I insist. "How come Poseidon has a child?! The Big Three, they took an oath, right?! It isn't possible-"

"I said silence!" She repeats louder this time and I decide to shut my mouth. Athena's angry. I can sense it. I can see it in her eyes. I know I have to ask her again about the whole son of Poseidon thing but I stop myself. If there's something one should be cautious about all the Gods and Goddesses in Olympus, it's their temper. Never ever make them angry. "You should ask no more about this, do you understand?"

I nod. "Yes, mother."

"Very well." She says, calming down a bit. I see her frown at my Atlantis sketch which is posted just behind me. "I think I'll look at your other works. Will you show me around?"

"He said I have to remember." I speak again. I know I mustn't but I can't stop myself. I have to know the answer. "Does that mean I'm forgetting something?"

"I told you no more questions about him, Annabeth! Do I need to-"

"It's not about him!" Athena looks more furious than ever. It's the first time I've ever talked back at her and it must have shocked her. It has shocked me too. I feel my knees shaking in fear but now that I've done it, there's no way I can ever step back. "It's about me, Mom!"

"Annabeth.."

"Please, Mother. I beg you. Answer me." I gaze back to the floor. The tiles under my feet begin to look blurry as tears start fill my eyes again.

Athena suddenly puts her hand in my face and makes me look at her, wiping the tears at the same time. Once again, I'm godstruck with my mother's beauty. She might not be as feminine as Aphrodite when it comes to presenting herself but still for me, she's perfect. The hair, the skin, the eyes. Everything. "Y-Yes, Annabeth. It's just like what you said. Your memories are not complete."

"Who erased them?" I ask.

Mom hesitates a bit and then sighs. "I asked Mother Hera to do it."

"But why?" Now it's my turn to be angry. "Why did you do that? Tell me, did I ever do something wrong?"

"I just wanted to protect you." She says, taking her hands from my face. "A child of Poseidon cannot be trusted."

"You meant the guy a while ago?" I say and Mother nods in reply. I still can't believe that there's really another child of the Big Three but I quickly shrug the thought away. It can wait. "Why protect me from him? Is he that dangerous?"

"Like I said, he's a child of that old seaweed. He cannot trus-"

"Just why do you hate Poseidon that much?"

With that question, Athena falls silent. For the first time, her stormy gray eyes stop from being stormy and she's staring blankly at nowhere. Oh dear Pan, did I make her angry again or what? Did I ask the wrong question or what? Nevertheless, it doesn't change the fact that I want to know the answer.

But ten seconds past, fifteen, twenty and yet she still won't say anything.

"It's not just about the rivalry, isn't it?"

In the end, Mother didn't answer my questions and I too decided not to push it anymore. I think that by asking that last question, I accidentally touched something personal inside her and from the look on her face, it doesn't seem like it's a good memory at all. As I watch her walk around, looking at all of my works, I feel my anger subsides. Even though Mother and I fight most of the time, I can't stay angry with her for a long time. It's true that I hate what she did to my memories but then again, she did it for my sake. I know that she's just being overprotective of me but still I can't help but think there's more to it than that.

What did_ really_ happen between Athena and Poseidon?

"I need to go now." She says and opens her arms at me. I gladly accept her invitation and wrap my arms around her, a huge smile on my lips. It's been long time since we've done something like a mother and a daughter normally do. It feels good and warm that I find it hard to let go.

"Write my name on the sign sheet for me, will you?" Those are her last words before she finally vanishes which I find weird. I'm about to ask again but then I realize she's no longer there.

"Do you want to know who I am?" His voice rings again inside my head and then it hit me.

Name...Sign sheet...

She gave a hint. Athena just gave me a hint!

Again, did I ever say I have the greatest mom in the world?

Before I know it, my feet are already moving on its own, walking towards the sign booth near the elevator. Fortunately, it's already late in the afternoon so people are considerably fewer making it easy for me to move around. As soon as I reach it, I ask the person in the booth to let me see the list of names and she quickly agrees with no further questions.

I can feel my hands shaking as I hold the paper. If I've interpreted the hint right, then it must be written in it. His name. Maybe if I can find out what it is, it will help me remember. I scan the pages one after another, words that make no sense fill my dyslexic eyes.

HJON MAOSNS EWN ROYK

TRPIACK ZENQERIU SLO GELANSE

LJENO OJA ENW REJYES

When I arrive at the last page, I can feel the hope in me slowly evaporating. What if he didn't write his name? What if he really did not want me to know? With all these thoughts in my head, I continue scanning it and then finally stop as something caught my eyes.

Somewhere in the middle of the page, a name is written in Greek.

"Percy Jackson."

And the word next to it says that he lives in_ Atlantis_.

* * *

I know the ending sucks but don't hate me and I would really appreciate it if you tell me what you think of this story.  
Reviews are very very much welcome. And if you have time, check my KH fanfic, Dating Roxas. Thanks again for reading! :)

**P.S.** For now, I'll put this fanfic under complete status but just in case I'll ask. Who wants an epilogue? XD


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hi there! Since most of you are cursing me for giving you such a bad ending, I thought of extending this story for another 3-4 chapters to answer all the unanswered _why'_s and _how_'s and other stuff. Though this one's kind of short compare with the last two chapters.

Anyway, I won't keep you for so long. Here's the epilogue/chapter 3!

* * *

**Annabeth's Chase: Part 3 (Not so much of an Epilogue)**

"Okay, calm down Annabeth. You can do this."

Taking one last deep breath, I close my eyes. I feel the boat diving deck rocking with the waves under my feet and soon enough, an overwhelming surge of anxiety bursts inside me again. I remain still for a while, muttering for the millionth time a desperate prayer to all of the gods and goddesses in Olympus before finally putting the mask on my eyes.

You see, I've been doing this a lot lately. Praying, you know. Well, it's not that I've lost my faith in the Greeks because Mr. D still hasn't gotten over his alcoholic problems or because Lord Zeus was caught red-handed again with a nymph by none other than Hera her bitch-self (*cough* karma *cough*) and just suddenly transformed into some religious devotee of who mortals referred to as their Almighty God. Hades, like _I_ would do that.

But probably, it's mostly because that I don't know what to do anymore.

It has been almost four months since Percy showed up that day of the exhibit, acting so stupidly mysterious but undoubtedly looking so gorgeous than ever and yet I still don't fully remember everything about him and me. I thought that by knowing his name it will bring back my stolen memories but I was completely wrong. I do remember most of them but there are still blanks and spaces left unfilled.

On the brighter side of things, there have been clear improvements. Like when I mentioned to Thalia and Grover about him, they recognized his name. They even talked about stories of us doing quests together. And what surprised me the most was that they didn't find it weird that he's a child of Poseidon.

"That's old news, Annie." I am told. It's as if every person in the world already knows about it except me.

_That's the whole point, young lady_. I imagine Athena telling me that inside my head but I hear nothing from the goddess. I guess we're back again to our mother-daughter-cold-war drama.

Just when I need someone to blame about how every_ freaking_ time I dive into the _freaking_ sea something bad _freaking_ happens, Mother's not_ freaking_ there.

And… yep! Still, nothing from Athena.

I sigh. See? Provoking her doesn't even work. I badly need some hand here. I need to get to Atlantis. The_ real_ Atlantis. And being her daughter doesn't seem to help at all.

"Don't worry, Annabeth. Everything will be fine this time."

I take another last deep breath and then, shutting down all of my thoughts, I throw myself into the sea. As I feel the water hit my skin (indirectly since I'm wearing a suit), I instantly shiver. I know it's supposed to be cold but I always have the feeling that it's much colder whenever I'm in it. As if someone's lowering the temperature especially whenever a child of Athena like me attempts to infiltrate the territory of her rival. Ridiculous idea, yes, but not entirely impossible.

Before going any deeper, I check _Thimos_, a compass Chiron gave me when I went back to the camp to ask for help on how I could get to Atlantis. Like the Underworld, Atlantis also has gates presently hidden at some points of America (it also moves together with Olympus though underwater). And according to him, _Thimos_ is just one of the items that show the way to these gates and fortunately for me, it leads to the closest gate from New York which is at the Long Beach near Oceanside. Aside from that, it can also make water bubble if the user wants it to. However, summoning one drains the power of its user so as much as possible I refrain myself from using that special function and resort to the mortal way of breathing underwater. Which, by the way, Hera-lly sucks because not only I have to carry this huge oxygen tank on my back but also I have to wear the fins!

The stupid-looking fins! Gah, I hate them the most! They make me look like a fish! Which, again, I know very well, the main point of wearing one if I don't want to get eaten alive by a shark or some awful sea creatures. But still!

I miss my invisible cap.

_Thimos_ emits a faint light which tells me that I'm on the right track. Then, I turn on the headlight and begin to swim deeper into the ocean. Everything around me is dark and I can't help but feel wary of what might happen this time. Like I said a while ago, during this past four months, all my attempts to find the gate to Atlantis have been futile. It's either the weather is bad or my oxygen tank will malfunction out of the blue or I'll get muscle cramps even if I did stretch before diving. It's as if I'm cursed or something. Or maybe I am. Maybe I _am_ cursed. And maybe I'm just being stubborn about it and don't want to admit that there's no way I can go to Atlantis.

But I know I need to. I want to see him again. I want to see Percy. My head is filled with nothing but thousands of questions that I'm sure only he can answer. And most of all, I need to confirm that undeniable attraction I felt between the two of us that time and this feeling of longing growing inside me now. _What were we? What are we? What could have become of us?_ Cursed or not, I need to find the answers for these questions or I'll never forgive myself for doing nothing.

Glancing at my watch, I realize that I have been underwater for almost ten minutes and so far, everything seems to be fine. This is the longest record I've ever had since I started my find-Percy-go-to-Atlantis adventure and I can't help but feel hopeful that I'll finally reach the gate this time.

Until my headlight starts to flicker.

"Oh crap. What now?" I groan but only bubbles escape from my lips. I keep switching the light on and off to test what's wrong. But every time I do, the light only becomes fainter and fainter._ Is it the batteries? Did I forget to change them?_ Nope, I shake my head. I did change them before going ashore. Panic starts to eat me as I deal with the light and at the same time trying to keep myself from sinking. I'm probably almost 100 feet below the sea level now and I can't go any further without the light. I know _Thimos_ can lead me to the gate but I just can't take that risk.

As I figure out what to do next, the headlight finally goes dead on me. Darkness begins to fill my surroundings and I feel the same anxiety again. "Oh dear Gods.." I close my eyes and pray to my fast heartbeat. "I need your help. Just this once. I'll never ask again. I'll even make up with Hera. I prom-"

"Annabeth."

The moment I open my eyes, I know that my prayers are answered.

Floating there in front of me is none other than Percy Jackson himself. However, he doesn't seem to be the same Percy I saw four months ago. His hair is much longer and messier and he has scratches all over his face as if he just came back from a war or something. And he's also wearing that old ragged Camp Half-Blood t-shirt.

"P-Percy?" I gasp and then quickly notice that I can properly speak and breathe underwater. The regulator in my mouth is gone! I reach for my back and realize that the oxygen tank too has vanished! Same with the stupid fins! What the Hades is going on here?!

And it's not only me who suddenly changed but also the surroundings. Long weeds swaying slowly fill the area and schools of fish that aren't there before are swimming, playing around us. Just above where we are, I can see shadows moving but they don't seem like they're leaving. It's as if they're waiting for something to come out of the water.

I look back at Percy who's smiling at me in his goofy yet adorable way. _W-Wait. Are the gods kidding me? Don't tell me they're waiting for us?_

Before I can even speak another word, Percy's arms snake around my waist and pull me towards him. My whole body trembles with the contact and for a moment, I think of pulling away but Percy's hands find their way to my face. Then, he brings his own close to mine, holds it there for I don't really know how long before saying, "Let's make it the best underwater kiss of all time."

_Is this real?_ The thought comes to me as I feel Percy's lips touch mine. The kiss is slow at first but gradually picks up pace and grows more sensual with each passing moment inside the water bubble. _Did this happen in the past? Is it one of my memories of him?_ I begin to think again but my mind feels like it's melting. This is just too much of Percy. The taste of his lips, the feel of his skin, the scent of his hair. Everything just feels so overwhelming that I find it hard to breathe. And I'm not exaggerating. My lungs do feel like they're being crushed and my brain feels like it's shrinking little by little.

"Wake up, Wise Girl."

When I open my eyes again, Percy is no longer there. Neither the weeds, nor the fishes, nor the shadows. All that's left for me to stare at is nothing but water. _Thimos_ also has stopped emitting light and now that I think of it, I'm really having a hard time to breathe. _Crap, is it the oxygen tank now? Did it run out? Just how long have I been out dreaming?_

Now that the tank's the problem, I have no other choice but to forfeit today's mission. Gathering all my strength, I begin swimming back to the boat. The weight of the tank and the force of gravity make it twice difficult but I know I can't give up or else I'll die. And I can't just die.

But it seems I ran out of luck this time.

In my desperation to reach the surface as fast as I can while trying not to run out of air, my right leg suddenly cramps. Wincing, I fall into a stop as I feel the twisting pain in my leg. _Not now. Not now, please_. I repeatedly beg inside my head, hoping for someone, for anyone to reply. But nothing comes back.

If only I can properly breathe then even with the cramps, I can still swim back. Properly breathe? I thought and then soon enough it hits me. _Water bubble!_ With no enough time, I search for _Thimos_ which is attached to my wrist like a watch and look for special button which might create the bubble. However, I find none. Also, I did not ask Chiron about it because I have no intentions of using it in the first place.

_ Am I going to die?_ I thought, giving up the water bubble idea. _Is this the way I'm going to die? Drowning?_ It's so close. I'm so close. I even remembered the kiss Percy and I shared underwater. I even experienced it all over again. _So why does it have to end now? Why do I have to die now?_

I raise my head and look up above to where the sky supposedly is. But as expected, I see nothing. Only water. I feel my vision begins to blur and my whole body starts to numb. _It's useless to do anything now_, I thought and let myself relax for the last time.

And then after that,_ nothing_.

"Oh, will you just look at that! Dying in the midst of her search for true love! Oh my Greek-est Gods! It's sooooo romantic I think I'm gonna cry!"

* * *

How was it? No Athena here so I'm kind of sad. Did I answer some of your questions? Or did this chapter add some more? LOL Anyway, please tell me what you think! I'll be more than happy to read them! See you next chapter.

P.S. If you want some KH fanfic drama, check my other fic Dating Roxas :)

Loves and More Loves,

Seafood Noodle


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Another super late update! I'm so sorry! But I do hope you enjoy this chapter. Happy reading!

So who's finished reading The Mark of Athena? :)

* * *

**Annabeth's Chase: Part 4**

I wake up to what feels like 300 degrees of skin-melting and brain-desiccating immense heat from the sun. Squinting, I try to focus my eyes but everything around me seems bleary like I'm seeing two of that object at a time and there's this unusual rocking movement from beneath my body.

Is this the Elysium? Blurred my vision might be but it sure doesn't look the same as what I saw years ago when we went to the Underworld. No signs of green fields can be found anywhere but just plain blue scenery fills the area. Water is the first thing that comes to my mind and quickly enough, I can hear the sound of the waves splashing on the nearby rocks. A few seagulls are wandering above and some are even resting on a huge metal placed just about five meters from where I'm sitting up.

Metal? It's not just a simple chunk of metal. It's an anchor! I attempt to stand up to get a better view of the place but a sudden feeling of nausea comes over me and I fall back once again. From the looks of it, it appears that I'm currently on a yacht which clearly explains the rocking motion a while ago. However, whose yacht it is, I still can't figure it out. From not so far away, I can see the shoreline though it too isn't the same as the one in Long Beach.

"Where am I?" I ask while fighting the urge to vomit. Just when I thought I've already overcome my seasickness, here it goes coming back again, much like Hera's huge nose acne which she always hides through a concealer even though everyone in Olympus practically knows about it.

"I know, right?!" says a perky female voice coming from behind me. I turn to see who it is and my jaws literally drop with the sight of Aphrodite in her shocking pink two-piece suit emerging from the sea that one might imagine she's reenacting the way she came to this world. As she climbs the ladder, everything seems to be in slow motion to the point that I can see the droplets of water running down her heavenly smooth skin, tracing her perfect body figure. The goddess of love and beauty becomes aware of her stunning effect on me and then flashes a Seventeen Magazine-y smile to my direction.

"Am I that gorgeous, Juliet?"

"M-My name's not Juliet." I stutter, slightly feeling embarrassed with my reaction and at the same time, annoyed with the fact that she forgot my name. If I can just repeat it to that thick blond hair covered empty head of hers that while she was busy fussing over what clothes she'd wear, I was saving— I mean, Percy and I along with the others, were saving the world from the ever bitter Titans.

"Those are quite harsh words you used there, my dear." Aphrodite pouts, making her way towards the pink towel laid on the floor next to me. "Adjectives, isn't that what they're called?" She giggles, proud of her momentary intelligence. "See? My beautiful perfect head isn't that empty like what you think, my little Juliet."

"I told you. I'm not-"

"Silly girl." She let out another set of giggles again. "Of course you're not. You're Annabeth. Daughter of Athena."

_Then why call me that twice? _Ignoring that comment, I ask her. "Wait, you can also read my thoughts?"

I watch Aphrodite laughs as if what I said is a joke. She sits down on the towel gracefully, taking the bottle of sunblock on the way and begins applying it to her skin. Even with those simple movements, I am awed once again with her beauty. Just how many millions of pheromones does she emit per second? The curious side of me wants to know.

"To be honest, I can't my dear." She confesses, a small smile tracing her lips. "But I _can _feel them."

"By the way, what are those phyromine-thingy you said?"

"Nothing." As much as I want to explain to her the word given my Athena-nature, I dismiss the idea and just shake my head.

Aphrodite doesn't mind it though and continues applying lotion while I decide to remain silent for a while. I need to get myself back on track. Before I arrived in this boat, I was on another attempt to find the gate to Atlantis when the usual misfortune happened. But how did I get here? I completely thought that I have died. The goddess of love beside me grins and I quickly know the answer to my question. I guess I should at least express my gratitude.

"You're very much welcome."

I guess there's no need for that.

"Why did you save me?"

"Duh. Wasn't it you who asked to be saved?" She rolls her eyes and applies one last spurt of the moisturizing mixture to her skin before placing the bottle on the floor. "And even with this little empty brain of mine, I can still clearly remember your exact words-"

"Okay, stop. There's no need to repeat that." I cut her off. I don't want to be reminded that I actually said I'm going to make up with Hera. But really, of all those oh-yeah-I'm so-immortal gods, why does it have to be Aphrodite? Why not Athena? Who by the way is my own mother if ever she has already forgotten who she is in my life. Maybe I should just go to Olympus and knock her head off for her to remember.

Yeah. That's one Hades of an idea.

"That's one Hades of an idea." Aphrodite says as if testing the words in her beautiful mouth and then giggles the teenagy way. "I like it!" As much as I don't want to admit it, there is really something in her laugh that makes you want to join her, like she's passing this huge wave of good energy into your body so that it will replace the bad ones. Nope, I mentally smack myself. This is one of her tricks. I bet she just wants to pull me into doing some weird quest like finding her lost hairbrush in the mortal world or something like that.

And she's obviously lying when she said she can't read my mind! She just repeated the exact words I said in my head! And from the look that she's giving right now, I know she's doing it again!

"You know, for a daughter of Athena, you're quite an emotional one, huh?"

Emotional? Athena? These two words don't even go together! As a matter of fact, it's an insult to the whole Athena cabin to be described as such. For us, it's mind over heart. Or rather, it's mind over everything.

Fully aware that Aphrodite's reading my mind, feelings or whatsoever again, I try to empty my thoughts and take a deep breath to calm myself.

"But you're also good at hiding it." She suddenly speaks before I tell her any word and then places her hand on my chest and holds it there. "I mean, controlling this." For a moment, when her hand touches my skin, there is this sudden burst of I-can't-fully-explain-wow energy in me which completely wipes everything inside my head (including all Athena's battle strategies and plans), emptying it clean and then all I can hear is the beating sound of my heart.

"You want to see him, don't you?"

Him.

Percy.

_My_ Percy.

Still in trance, my eyes meet with the holding gaze of the goddess in front of me and I find myself nodding. It's the truth. I know it is. But it didn't feel like that until now that I hear it coming from someone and in my case, that someone is Aphrodite. _It's just all fluff. She's the goddess of love. She ought to say that to everybody, _the rational side of me argues. I decide to ignore it.

"Sometimes, just thinking and feeling are not enough. You need to say them. You need to express them." Aphrodite tells me, finally withdrawing her hand from my chest. I watch her gestures as she continues with her speech, her every movement filled with intense emotions as if her life depends on it. Well, when it comes to love, at one point, I guess it's true for her. "That's why there is such thing as words, my dear. They are the reflection of your feelings."

To be honest, I can't believe that I'm having this kind of conversation with Aphrodite and what's worse is the fact that I'm actually listening to her. Maybe it's because Mother is completely not talking to me at all that I fear I'm gradually losing my Athena-ness. "I… him.." I begin to mutter and realize that the goddess' words have penetrated all the way through my thick head armor.

Now whoever said to take Aphrodite lightly, s/he is wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I haven't met anyone as controlling as her.

"As long as love is concerned, my dear." She says, winking at the same time.

"You're bad influence." I grumble under my breath and then fix my eyes on the waves crashing onto the rocks. _Percy, where are you?_ I find myself asking inside my head. I know that he's in Atlantis but why does he have to be there? Why can't he just come and meet me just like what he did when he came to my exhibit? It'll be a lot easier that way.

_But maybe, it isn't that he doesn't like to. It's because he can't_, the voice in my subconscious says. He can't…I can't too. Is this just a coincidence? And then it hit me. The leg-cramps, oxygen tank problems and all that misfortunes…

"HA!" Suddenly, I'm on my feet as everything starts to fall into place. I can't find the gate to Atlantis. That's a fact. But it's not because I'm cursed or something just like what I've been thinking all this time. Someone is behind this. Someone is keeping us apart. Back at the exhibit, I remember Percy saying that his 'time's up'. What does that mean? Was he allowed to see me just for a limited time? If that's so, who gave him that permission? I replay everything that happened that day and I'm not surprised to find the answer to that question in no time. Why haven't I thought of it before? Right after Percy left, one Olympian appeared.

Athena.

Of course it makes sense. She ordered that old witch Hera to erase my memories, she has hated Poseidon and all Poseidon-related things since forever and now she's keeping the two of us from meeting each other. When she gave me that clue that lead me to knowing Percy's name, I thought that everything is finally okay but why do this again now? Did something happen? Does it have something to do with her keeping silent all this time? My brain cells are back to full-work mode again as questions keep pouring in beyond my control.

I turn to my side to see Aphrodite's reaction since she probably knows what I'm thinking but when I do, she's no longer sitting beside me. Instead, I find her standing near a CD player, popping a disc inside it. Then as if like a little child, she claps her hand and faces me.

"What are you—-"

"LALALALALALA~ LALALALALALA~ LALALALALALA~"

An upbeat song begins playing, pounding loudly on the huge speakers that are not even there a while ago. Much to my surprise, Aphrodite starts to sing along and does this weird butt dance. And what I mean by weird butt dance is literally a weird butt dance. Wait, am I making sense here? Anyway, she's circling her humps in a quite seductive way followed by a hand movement which to me, looks like what bull hunters do when they're about to throw the rope around the fierce horned animal.

To put it simply, I don't know anything about dancing. Period.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!"

Great, now she's counting. Is this another Steps' song?

"Oh Annabeth! Join me. It's super duper fun!" Aphrodite giggles and continues to dance. "I never thought KPOP is this good! A few days ago, I heard some nymphs in Olympus talking about it and I got curious so I asked Hermes to do some research. And guess what? He gave me this Youtube link! " When she says that, an Ipad suddenly pops on her hand and a video showing some Asian girls in military pants and white tees doing the same butt dance starts playing.

What the Hades is wrong with the im/mortal world?

"Silly as ever, my Juliet. Of course there's nothing wrong!" She chuckles. "So stop thinking, analyzing or whatever you do with your brain there and let's enjoy this music! Apollo's children are the best!"

I raise my brows at her. "Are you sure it's okay for you to say that? Won't your children get jealous?"

An unexpected reaction comes from the goddess of love. "My children?" She laughs. "They don't mind things like that, my dear. In battle, they are fully aware of their uselessness but they also know what they're best at. I always make sure they know their strengths."

Wait, is this really Aphrodite I am talking to right now?

"Yep." She answers, popping the 'p'. "The one and only." And then she goes back to her dancing. I even think she's better than the girls on the video.

Oh dear immortal gods, I feel like I'm being brainwashed. I really do need to talk to Athena right now.

"Athena…" Her name brings me back to my previous thoughts. "Do you know where my mother is? She has not been talking to me for a while now and I wonder if something wrong happened."

"Your mother? We haven't been talking lately you know. I even think she's avoiding me for some reason. And from what I've noticed, she's kind of.. how do I put it? Jumpy, I guess. Like something's bothering her."

"Jumpy?" I ask. "But why?"

Aphrodite shrugs. "I don't know."

"How come you don't know? You've been reading my mind all this time. Can't you also do that to her?"

"I don't read minds, Annabeth. I read what's in your hearts. Your feelings." She explains, pushing the pause button of the player. "And Athena has mastered controlling them ever since she got out of Zeus head, you know. So I don't think I can do that. And even if I can know what she's thinking, with millions of thoughts running inside that smart head of hers, I'm sure there's no way I can keep up."

What she said is true and I fall silent for a moment. My mission to get to Atlantis will have to wait because in the first place, I can't go there if there's someone sabotaging my plans. And I have a big hunch Athena has something to do with this.

"But will it help you if I say someone saw her talking to Poseidon?"

"Poseidon?" I gasp. Now that complicates everything. Why would Mother even do that? Has she gone insane? Or is Aphrodite just making up all of this? My head is about to burst any second and the continued rocking of the boat only makes it worst. Further thinking won't help me. "I need to go now. I must see Athena."

"Oh you're leaving already, Juliet?" Aphrodite asks, a hint of sadness in her voice. I want so badly to tell her that my name is not Juliet and at the same time to roll my eyes because I just said that I'm going and yet she asked that but I refrain myself. Again, even if I don't want to admit it, I actually kind of enjoyed talking with her. Although I do hate it when she's using her powers to see through me. Just like what she's doing right now.

"Wait." As I look for my things, one question suddenly pops in my head and I know that Aphrodite is the only one who can answer it. She's the goddess of love after all. "Can I ask you one last question?"

"Shoot, my dear."

"Was there something between.. I mean, did they kind of.."

"Who are you referring to?" A familiar smile is etched on her rosy lips and I know right then that she's just acting that she doesn't know, acting all innocent. Typical Aphrodite.

I'm afraid that if I say their names out loud, a flash of lightning will strike me out of nowhere or a huge wave will suddenly devour the yacht so I borrow her Ipad and write it down.

Athena and Poseidon.

For a split second, Aphrodite's eyes flicker in impossible hot pink color as if she's in a trance and then she turns to me. "If I tell you, then I have to kill you."

"With what? Your hairbrush?" I ask and is quickly answered by chuckles from the goddess' direction.

"Unlike my brain, my hairbrush is capable of many things."

"That, I sure want to see."

Aphrodite smiles sweetly but her expression soon changes as she speaks again. "My advice is that you should directly ask them about that. I hate telling unfinished stories."

"Unfinished? What do-"

"Oh look! We've arrived!" She exclaims and runs to the bow part of the boat. I follow her and see that we're back at the port in Long Beach. Just when did we start sailing back? I want to ask more about what she told me but I somehow get the feeling that Aphrodite doesn't want to anymore.

"Oops! The CD! "

Or maybe she just has a short attention span.

"Say hi for me to Percy, okay!" Aphrodite shouts as her boat begins to sail again. I nod and wave her goodbye, surprised with myself that I'm actually feeling quite sad as I watch her vanishes into the horizon. Although probably, she's no longer there given that she's a goddess and she could appear and disappear everywhere she wants to.

"Well, Mom, if you're listening, maybe Aphrodite's not that bad you know." I say, waiting for a voice to speak in my head but nothing replies back. I sigh. Well, even if she won't talk to me now, I'll be going to Olympus after this so I'll see her soon enough. There's no need to worry.

As I bend down to pick up my things, something of fluffy glittery pink wrapped around me which is not there before catches my attention. I examine it more closely and notice that it isn't just a simple garment. I smile as I remember the last time I saw it.

Hanging around my neck is none other than the goddess of love's infamous magical scarf: Aphrodite's scarf. The one Percy and I got at Waterland in Denver.

"Okay fine, Aphrodite. You rock."

* * *

Raise your hands if you know about the 'butt dance'! Haha. And reviews from you my dear readers will be very much appreciated.

See you next chapter!

Love and more love,

Seafood Noodle


End file.
